MY AC IS SHOT.

1996 Geo Prizm • 155,000 miles

The freon must have leaked out. I can't take the ac unit off, can I just cut the belt so I don't have to worry about it since it goes over the tension wheel? Or is more stuff connected to that belt route?

No noise, but I bought the car with the AC not working. I don't want to worry about replacing the belt anymore and I would like to also see about taking the AC unit out to lighten the car weight to get better mileage.